Alarm systems, such as fire alarm and security systems, typically include one or more centralized alarm panels that receive information from various sensors that are distributed throughout a structure or area. For example, a typical fire alarm system may include a plurality of initiating devices (e.g. smoke detectors, manually-actuated pull stations, etc.) that are connected to one or more alarm panels. During normal operation of the alarm system, the alarm panel may monitor electrical signals associated with each of the initiating devices for variations that may represent the occurrence of an alarm condition. For example, a variation in a particular electrical signal may represent the detection of smoke by a smoke detector in a corresponding area, or “zone,” of a building in which the smoke detector is located, and may cause the alarm panel to enter an alarm mode. The alarm panel may be configured to respond to such a condition by initiating certain predefined actions, such as activating one or more notification appliances (e.g. strobes, sirens, public announcement systems, etc.) within the monitored building.
An alarm system may also include a workstation, such as a personal computer (PC) or server, which is operatively connected to the alarm panel of the alarm system. If the alarm system includes a plurality of alarm panels, the panels may be networked, such as in a ring configuration, and the workstation may be connected to the network as a network node, for example. The workstation may be loaded with one or more software applications that provide human operators of the system with a user interface (UI) for monitoring and controlling certain aspects of the alarm system. For example, a UI may provide an operator with a graphical representation of the alarm system, including all of the individual initiating devices and notification appliances (collectively referred to as “points”) within the system. The UI may allow an operator to observe the functional status of the points, and may further allow the operator to activate, deactivate, or otherwise exert control over the operation of the points. For example, the UI may allow an operator to readily determine whether a particular point in the system is functioning properly, and to dispatch service personnel if it is not. The UI may further allow an operator to determine the specific initiating device or devices that were tripped upon the occurrence of an alarm condition. Still further, the UI may allow an operator to manually activate one or more specified notification appliances within the system, such as for delivering a public announcement.
It is typical for alarm systems that are implemented in large-scale applications to include a plurality of independent alarm system workstations, each having an independent UI for facilitating control and monitoring of a plurality of respective points. In order to provide operators with a single, unified UI for such a plurality of workstations, point data from each of the independent UIs may be transmitted to a single workstation or software program—referred to as a “UI broker”—which may aggregate the point data and present it to a client in a single, comprehensive interface. However, it is possible that two or more of the independent UIs from which point data is aggregated may be configured with different and potentially conflicting interface parameters. For example, a first UI may be configured with a first set of operational parameters that dictate certain colors, images, controls, notification sounds, etc., that may be presented to a client to facilitate control and monitoring of particular system points, while a second UI may be configured with a second set of operational parameters that include colors, images, controls, notification sounds, etc. that are different from those of the first set. These differences must be reconciled upon the aggregation and presentation of point data via the UI broker.